


We Can't Save Them All

by lokiofasgard0228



Category: Marvel Cinematic Universe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-04-04
Updated: 2019-04-04
Packaged: 2020-01-04 20:42:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,492
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18351335
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/lokiofasgard0228/pseuds/lokiofasgard0228
Summary: Tony gets a worrying phone call late at night from someone he can't ignore, and goes on a search for a kid he has started caring very much about. What he finds is not something he was prepared for.





	We Can't Save Them All

**Tony:**

Tony is asleep, pressed up against Pepper, when through his nightmares he distantly hears a phone ringing and instantly wakes up. He rolls over, grumbling at the time, and sees that the phone call is from May Parker. Tony gently untangles himself from Pepper’s arms and leaves the room before the noise could wake her up. Answering the phone and wondering why the hell she would be calling at this hour, he grumbles sourly, “Yes?”

 

“Hi, is this Tony Stark? I hate to bother you at this time of night, but…it’s about my nephew, Peter,” a woman’s voice answers.

 

“What about him?”

 

“Well it’s just that he hasn’t come home yet, and he said he had the internship with you today and I wasn’t sure if he was staying late to work on a project or something. I haven’t been able to get a hold of him, and I was starting to get worried. Is he there?”

 

As the woman explains this, Tony’s irritation is gradually replaced by anxiousness and fear, as he hasn’t seen Peter all day. Not wanting to worry the woman, he answered casually, “Oh that’s my bad, he decided to stay late and I let him crash here for the night. He’ll be back in the morning.”

 

“Oh that’s a relief. Sorry to bother you Mr. Stark,” she said, reassured. “Have a nice night!”

 

Tony immediately began running towards his workroom to get his suit, feeling the beginnings of a panic attack come over him at the thought of the kid being hurt or worse. “Friday, where’s the kid?”

 

“Sir, according to the tracker in Peter’s suit, his last location was in Queens as of a few minutes ago.”

 

Tony flew there as fast as he could, terror gripping him as thousands of possibilities ran through his head. The kid was just supposed to be patrolling, nothing really dangerous and he knew the kid never stayed out this late what could have happened was he okay what—

 

Several people stared upwards, confused, as Iron Man flew by above them so fast that he was a blur and a rush of wind and then was gone.

 

Tony finally spotted the kid on a rooftop, sitting against a wall with his head in his hands. Tony landed, and leaving the suit behind, he ran to the kid without pausing. The kid didn’t even look up. As Tony got closer, he noticed the kid had taken off his mask and was covered in blood, and Tony’s heart skipped a beat.

 

“Kid, are you okay? Where are you hurt? What happened?” He crouched in front of the kid, who finally looked up at him. Tony saw incredible pain and grief on his young and innocent  face, the kind that tore a hole in his heart.

 

**Peter:**

_(earlier)_

Peter had been out on patrol, swinging around the city listening and observing, ready to spring into action if he was needed. It was another quiet night, late enough so that most people were in their homes getting ready to go to sleep, when suddenly he heard someone screaming a few blocks away.

 

He immediately headed towards the sounds as fast as he could. Before he could get there though, he heard gunshots coming from the scene, and fear tore through him for whoever was in trouble ahead. Now only a half a block away, Peter swung around the corner of a building to see a man with a handgun standing over an older man, who was lying on the ground, blood seeping everywhere.

 

Peter, horrified, swung directly at the attacker, taking him by surprise and knocking him out cold, though as the man hit the ground the gun fired once more. Peter screamed at the nearest pedestrian: “CALL 911!” As the person whipped out their phone, Peter ran to the older man’s side, beginning to panic. There was so much blood…

 

He checked the man for a pulse, and found it, though it was very weak. Pushing his hands over the wound in the man’s chest, he desperately tried to put pressure on it, not caring that he was getting covered in the man’s blood.

 

_Come on come on come_ —“stay with me please stay with me please stay with me—” Tears began to block his vision as he realized that no matter what he did, the man wasn’t going to make it. The man’s face blurred and became a familiar face he hadn’t seen is so long…He’d failed this man, just as he’d failed—

 

With a shuddering breath, the man went still, and Peter felt the pulse of the man’s heart cease beneath his hands. In the distance, he heard sirens getting nearer and nearer, but by now Peter had gone numb. Slowly, he stood up, and he couldn’t tell if he was shaking. As the EMTs and police arrived, Peter shot a web and pulled himself away, pausing to look back and watch as the EMTs tried for a pulse, and found none.

 

**Tony:**

The kid’s eyes were red and puffy from crying, which was unusual because he knew the kid always tried to be strong—that was one of the things Tony admired about him.

 

“Peter.” Tony said, finally getting the kid’s attention. “What happened?”

 

The kid’s voice was hoarse as he tried to speak. “I—Mr. Stark, I—I couldn’t save him.”

 

“Whatever happened was not your fault, kid.” Tony tried to console him, but he knew from experience that there was nothing he could say or do to ease the guilt.

 

“You—you don’t understand,” Peter stammered through gasping breaths. “I failed him, just like I failed—I couldn’t save him, just like I couldn’t save Uncle Ben.”

 

Tony hadn’t heard the full story of what happened to his uncle; Peter never talked about it, and knowing how deeply personal the topic was Tony had never asked. However, he knew that it was not the kid’s fault. “Pete, that wasn’t your fault,” he said, sitting down next to Peter and putting his arm around him. Peter leaned into him and buried his face in Tony’s shirt and cried. Tony had never seen him like this, never seen him look this vulnerable, but he didn’t think any less of the kid for breaking down. At some point, living this kind of life, it all becomes too much, and there were always breakdowns. God knows that Tony had broken down more than once, but he never had someone to lean on or share it with. And he’d be damned if he would let this kid go through it alone, like he had.

 

**Peter:**

Peter couldn’t remember the last time he had felt so alone, and so guilty. When Tony had shown up, though deep down Peter knew he would, he just…he couldn’t hide his feelings anymore. He had just broke down and sobbed for so long because of all of his pent up rage and grief, and as he finished crying himself out he began to feel ashamed and embarrassed. He had just started sobbing, in front of _Tony Stark_ himself, someone he had looked up to for years and even more so now that he knew him more. Peter was Spider-man after all, and he didn’t want to be seen as some child who cried all the time.

 

“I’m s—I’m sorry Mr. Stark,” Peter said, sniffing.

 

Tony leaned away from Peter slightly to look him in the eyes. “Sorry for what? Being human? Being a fifteen-year-old kid who’s lost so much but still believes in humanity and wants to make the world a better place? Kid, you have nothing to be sorry for.”

 

Peter was silent for a while, wanting to know—no, _needing_ to know—“Mr. Stark, can I ask you something?” he blurted.

 

“Yeah.”

 

“Have you…have you ever broken down like this?”

 

**Tony:**

The kid’s question took him by surprise. Peter sensed Tony’s hesitation and began to say “Never mind, Mr. Stark, you don’t have to answe—"

 

“Yes,” Tony said, almost a whisper. “All the time.”

 

Now it was Peter’s turn to look surprised. Astonished, even. He was Tony Stark, he was strong, he didn’t let his emotions get to him, here he was, admitting to someone for the very first time how much pain he was constantly in. Tony was the kid’s hero, he knew that, and now he was telling him that he wasn’t as tough as he seemed. Peter didn’t say anything in response, not that he had to. It was written all over his face. Tony had been expecting sympathy, and even worse, pity, which was why he had never told anyone, not even Pepper. But the kid’s face was full of understanding and relief. Peter leaned against Tony again, and Tony pulled the kid into a hug so that he wouldn’t see the tear running down Tony’s face.

 

“Let’s get back to the tower,” Tony said, standing.

**Author's Note:**

> This was my first ever fanfiction that I wrote, please let me know what you all think!


End file.
